Pitt Psychiatry Investigators Receive YourMomCares Research Awards
Congratulations to Heather Joseph, DO (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics), who received the inaugural YourMomCares Brilliance in Research Award.
YourMomCares is a kids’ mental health nonprofit, founded by the moms of musicians, actors and athletes, to fund innovations in kids’ mental health and wellbeing. Candice Biernesser, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), and Rachel Vaughn-Coaxum, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry) also received awards.
The three Pitt Psychiatry investigators were selected from a large applicant pool to travel to Serendipity Labs in New York City and participate in a Shark Tank-style competitive event, where they presented their innovative ideas to a YourMomCares panel for a chance to win the $100,000 research award. The competition is aimed at addressing critical needs in child and adolescent mental health research, and supporting early-career investigators working in this field.
Below are the three investigators’ prize-winning projects:
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Heather Joseph, DO – Prevention is the Best Medicine: Let’s Intervene Before Birth to Improve Child Mental Health
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Candice Biernesser, PhD – Suicide Prevention for LGBTQ+ Youth Experiencing Online Victimization
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Rachel Vaughn-Coaxum, PhD – Childhood Adversity and Emotion Learning Constructs in Adolescent Depression
Congratulations to all!